Chopped fiber glass strand is commonly formed by mechanically chopping a continuous glass fiber strand either from a forming package or directly as the strand is attenuated from a bushing. A typical process for chopping fiber glass strand wet in a forming operation is the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,268 assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In this process glass fibers are attenuated, treated with a binder or size and after being gathered into a strand the strand is pulled between a roller having a rubber surface and a second roller having a plurality of cutting blades therein. The glass strand is then chopped between the two rollers as the filaments are being attenuated.
In another process for producing chopped strand the strands are fed to a chopping operation from a forming package. In this process the strand is in dry form. A typical operation of this latter type is shown in K. L. Lowehstein, The Manufacturing Technology of Continuous Glass Fibers, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company (New York: 1973), Pages 266-267.
Both systems have an inherent problem. In each, the chopping of the strands causes the cutting blades to wear, necessitating frequent interruptions in production to replace worn parts. It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a system for cutting glass fibers without the necessity of cutting blades.